Abstract

This chapter is based on the edited transcript of a panel discussion in which four UK academics share their experiences of teaching the practice, principles and applications of podcasting. Written collaboratively, it features how podcasts have gained traction in the news and entertainment industries, in art and community projects, and in business more generally. They describe shifts in student media consumption and attitudes towards listening against the emergence and evolution of radio studies as a subject area and the subsequent rise of podcasting in academia. As universities must increasingly provide not only vocational but commercially-viable career-focused education, the marketisation of podcasts appears to lend it primacy. Yet, despite the attractions of AI and visual podcasting, the skills required for creating intimate audio content remain key, so, they argue, radio studies retains its relevance for now.